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A young man was killed after crashing his e-bike due to a pothole, an inquest has heard.
Algert Lleshi died in hospital after coming off his bike and hitting his head on the road in Ashford.
The inquest at the coroner's court in Maidstone heard that the deep pothole in the road was a factor in the 22-year-old's crash in Beaver Road on June 2.
An eyewitness told the court in a written statement that Mr Lleshi seemed to suddenly veer side to side on his bike, eventually overturning.
He was immediately knocked unconscious and only came to seven minutes later, by which point two drivers and an off-duty nurse had stopped to help him.
Police and paramedics were called and when they arrived he was conscious and sitting up in the road.
While he was able to stand and eventually was able to walk into a waiting ambulance, he repeatedly complained about pain in his head and asked for pain relief, seeming to fall unconscious for a further two minutes before being roused.
He was transferred to the William Harvey Hospital, where it was discovered he had a traumatic brain injury caused by his accident.
His condition worsened and he was transferred to King's College Hospital for emergency surgery. Tragically, despite the surgery being successful, Mr Lleshi never woke up and he was declared dead on June 5, three days after the crash.
Assistant coroner Katrina Hepburn said that it was entirely possible that the Albanian-born man had not seen the deep pothole in the road and that it "seems likely" that it contributed to the accident.
She said: "It may well have been that the pothole wasn’t apparent to him given the time, despite the street lights.
“On balance it seems likely that it was what caused him to lose balance."
The pothole had been filled in by the time Mr Lleshi succumbed to his injuries, with some residents saying it had been fixed the day after the accident.
Candles were left around the patch where the hole was, while full tributes to the young man, who had been living in Kilburn, London, were left on the opposite side of the road.
A picture of Mr Lleshi has appeared at the roadside, as well as flowers, a cigarette packet and beer among other items.
A message written on one bunch of flowers read: "Rest in peace bro, too fast for this life."
Another, signed from Georgia and Theo, said: "Rest easy, they always take the best ones first."
"It is deeply tragic to lose such a young man in such tragic circumstances"
Ms Hepburn paid tribute to Mr Lleshi at the end of the inquest, saying to his family: "I would like to pass on my sincere condolences.
"It is deeply tragic to lose such a young man in such tragic circumstances."
For more information on how we can report on inquests, click here.
